


Lucky

by thatwriterlady



Series: 30 Day Writing Challenge 2017 [15]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Affection, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Castiel (Supernatural) Loves Cats, Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Fluff, Life With Pets, M/M, Married Life, Rescuing Animals, True Love, Veterinarian Castiel, Veterinarian Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-03 00:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12737550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Dean and Cas have a very full life that they count themselves lucky to have.  It includes a successful veterinary clinic, good friends, extended family, and a myriad of pets they have rescued over the years that have filled the empty spaces in their lives.  Their hearts are big, but filled completely.  Life is good.





	Lucky

**Author's Note:**

> This one's going to rot your teeth, it's so fluffy, but it's also going to tug at your heartstrings. You'll see why Cas has brought some of these animals into their home, and why Dean made no fuss about it. People can be cruel, but Cas and Dean have made up for it tenfold with love and care, and these animals know it. 
> 
> The word for today is "Cruel". **Monijune** I really hope I'm making you proud with each story I'm coming up with based on the words you gave me. I'm enjoying this challenge so much more than I have the last two years. Working with a single word is so much less stressful than trying to work with a full idea. I'm having fun with these, and they're coming to me much more easily. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this one. I sort of fell in love with the cats in this one, especially Juniper. She's a black cat, because I have a special place in my heart for black cats. I have two, brothers, Simon and Fergus (no, not named after Crowley, lol. Fergus is actually a family name. We call him Gus, or Gus Gus for short), and Pudge is a fat orange tabby, to give you all a visual. Angel would be a long hair, solid white cat with blue eyes, and you can picture as being deaf, which is why she would have been left at the shelter, and why Cas would have been drawn to her in the first place. She was special needs. Though I don't mention in the story that she's deaf. I know people like to have a visual, so there you go. All of the animals in their house would have been abandoned due to age, medical needs, or disabilities. And every single one of them is deeply loved.

**Day 15~**

**Cruel~**

Dean was kicked back in bed, his laptop open as he tapped away on it.  Beside him his husband was watching the evening news and petting his cat Juniper.  He made a noise at the back of his throat that told Dean something on the television was upsetting him, so he looked up to see what it was, and immediately regretted it.

 

“Cas, no.”

 

“But Dean, they’re in desperate need of being rescued.”  Cas turned his large blue eyes on him, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, Juniper and four other pairs of eyes turned to look at him too.  That wasn’t even all of Cas’ cats, that was just the ones on the bed with them at that moment.  Dean sighed and looked at the TV where there was a story going on about a rescue that had happened earlier that evening where cats had been removed from a hoarder’s house.  Of course Cas would feel the need to save them.  That was how they’d ended up with the 12 they already had.

 

“I’m sure there are other people that can step in and help.  It can’t always be you, babe.  Other people love cats just as much as you do.”

 

Cas hugged Juniper to his chest as he looked at the other cats on the bed.  All of them had been rescues, and every one of them was loved deeply, even by Dean.

 

“I know, but if I can save them from being killed…”

 

“Honey, logically you know we can’t save them all.  If we did, the world would be horribly overpopulated.  We’ve saved 27 lives already, and we’ve run out of people willing to take on another mouth to feed.  This is another 15 cats.  We can’t afford to feed that many, the clinic can’t afford to eat the cost of medicating, neutering, and covering whatever medical care they might need, and there’s no guarantee that we can rehome them all, which we would absolutely need to do.  I’m not saying this to be cruel, sweetheart, I’m just being realistic.”  Dean reached over to scratch Juniper under her chin.  She was purring loudly and looked up at him with her huge, green eyes.  Cas said her eyes reminded her of his.  He had named her for the color of her eyes.  She was one of Dean’s favorites, mostly because she was kind of dog like in her personality.

 

“You’re right.  I believe they’re going to Loving Heart, which Jess runs.  I’ll call her to make sure.  I won’t take any of them, but I can volunteer my time to help vaccinate and assist with medical care.”  Cas said.

 

“I can too.  We can both go down there this weekend.”  Dean told him.  His husband smiled wide and nodded.

 

“Alright.  I’ll call Jess in the morning.”

 

Dean went back to finishing the patient file he’d been working on, but he kept one eye on his husband as the rest of the story played out on the news.  He knew how sensitive Cas was, and how big his heart could be when he saw an animal in need.  If he didn’t put his foot down from time to time their house would be overrun with every creature imaginable.  As it was they had 12 cats, three dogs, four ferrets, a hamster, two rats, three guinea pigs, two cockatiels, a rabbit, and a sassy cockatoo named Felix who had claimed Dean as his own.  Felix went to work with Dean during the warmer weather and charmed the ladies that worked the front desk into sharing their snacks with him.  During the winter months he stayed at home.  He didn’t like that very much and he tended to be a bit of a butt when Dean got home.  One thing was very clear- He was insanely jealous of Cas.

 

They dealt with Felix’s jealousy though, just as they dealt with the issues that came with their various other pets.  Dean finished the file just as the alarm went off on his phone.  It was time to find Harmony, their 19 year old dog and administer her insulin shot.  After that it was time to check on the blind guinea pigs and make sure they were settled in for the night.  They were getting up there in age and arthritis was making it harder for two of them to get around now.

 

He shut down his computer and got up just as Cas extricated Juniper from his lap.  Together they headed out to the living room to begin their nightly routine.  They didn’t have children but their pets more than made up for that.  While Dean administered Harmony’s shot, Cas checked on the piggies and the other rodents.  After letting the dogs out, Dean went to cuddle Felix and play with him for a few minutes before putting him up for the night.  Felix was getting up there in age too and had arthritis his feet now.  Dean was considering getting him different perches so he could sit more comfortably. 

 

After checking on everyone, they made their way back towards the bedroom to find that their bed had been taken over by another four cats.  Dean rolled his eyes and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth while Cas relocated as many as he could to the two cat stands that sat in the corners of the room.  When Dean returned there were only three cats left in the bed, and he slipped under the covers easily for once.  Cas left to go do his business in the bathroom, and Juniper found her way up onto Dean’s stomach, kneading bread through the blankets as she purred up a storm.

 

“You my girl, June?”  He asked as he stroked the soft, black fur on her head.  She was missing both ears after her former owner had tortured her and cut them off.  How she had remained the sweet, affectionate girl that she was, he had no idea, but he loved her personality.  She curled up in his lap and nudged his hand with her head, encouraging him to continue petting him.  While she liked cuddling with Cas and getting petted by him, she adored Dean and preferred spending her time with him.  He loved the old girl.

 

“Yeah, you’re my sweet girl.  You know I love you.”  He cooed.  She looked up at him through half closed eyes, her expression one of pure contentment.  It warmed his heart.  Cas returned and climbed into the bed.  As soon as he had the blankets pulled up, their cat Pudge was in his lap, bumping his head against Cas’ chin, demanding attention.  Pudge had come to them after some awful teenagers had caught him as a kitten and lit him on fire, just for the thrill of it.  Another girl had seen it and managed to put the fire out, saving Pudge’s life.  He was missing half the fur on his body, was blind in one eye, and only had one ear, but he was the most loving, affectionate cat you could ever meet, and Cas adored him.  Dean did too.  He’d been unable to deny his husband’s request to bring Pudge home all those years ago, and never once had he regretted the decision.  Pudge fit into their family perfectly.

 

“Are you my sweet boy?  Yes you are.”  Cas rubbed his nose against Pudge’s, grinning when the cat’s tongue darted out to lick his cheek.  A raspy meow escaped Pudge’s throat, the only sound he could make after the damage he’d endured, and Cas pulled him closer.

 

“He’s doing so well.  I’m so proud of him.”  Cas said, smiling at his husband.

 

“I agree.  He’s made excellent recovery.  I wasn’t sure he was going to pull through that first year, but he proved us wrong.  It’s because Angel takes such good care of him.” Dean agreed.  Cas looked at the fluffy white cat laying at the end of the bed cleaning herself.  She had taken Pudge under her wing and acted as his mother since he’d come to live there, and because of her, he’d thrived.  Angel was their oldest cat, and had come into the marriage as Cas’ adopted cat.  He’d gotten her from a shelter when he was still in college, and about two years before he met Dean.  That had been 2o years ago.  They had both been going into veterinary medicine and had fallen in love pretty early on.  Marriage had been a natural next step, and they’d gone on to open their own clinic.  Taking on their own zoo had been a bit unexpected, but Dean came to accept it as time went on.  He wouldn’t change how big his husband’s heart was for anything in the world.  They did good every single day, and they’d changed the lives of every single animal in their home.

 

“Yes, she has helped him thrive.  She lives up to her name.”  Cas watched as Pudge moved down to the end of the bed and curled up with Angel.  Once his lap was free, he scooted closer to Dean and carefully curled himself around him.

 

“We’re lucky, you know that?”  Dean asked.  Cas tilted his head back to look up at him.

 

“How do you mean?”

 

“I know I’m not overly religious or anything, but I feel like we’ve been sort of blessed with these beautiful creatures.  We were meant to save them, sure, but I think in a way, they saved us too.  I knew compassion, but not on the same level that I do now having you and them in my life.  I knew love, but not to the same degree that I do now that I have you and them in my life.  No one can tell me that animals can’t love us in return.  I know June Bug here loves me, and Felix loves me, and I know Pudge loves you.  We have known more love in our lives than some people could know in a dozen lifetimes, and I think we’re damn lucky for that.”  Dean ran his fingers through Cas’ hair before leaning down to kiss him.  Cas smiled happily as he wrapped his arms around his waist.

 

“I feel the same way.  And while we may not rescue this batch ourselves, we will help Jess with their care, and help her locate people that can give them good homes.  Down the road we’ll have the time and space to open up our home to others.  Right now though, I understand that we have our hands full.  I’m happy, and I am the luckiest man in the world having you for my husband.  I know I put you through a lot.  Thank you for being so understanding, sweetheart.”

 

Dean chuckled as he slid further down in the bed and turned off the television.  He turned off the lamp next.  Juniper continued purring away on his belly, unperturbed by his movements.  “I consider myself the lucky one.  We’ll do what we can to help Jess so she’s not overwhelmed.  Who knows?  Maybe Charlie will want a 16th cat.  You never know.”

 

Cas still had a smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep, wrapped up in his husband’s arms with two ball of fur tucked between them.  

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you all felt as warm and fuzzy after reading this as I did writing it. Do you see why I fell in love with the cats? I thought Dean was pretty awesome here too. Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always welcome.


End file.
